


Sunshine

by Sparkly_Girl_Glitters



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, First Date, First ever AO3 post!!, First ever SU fic, Fluff, a little tiny bit of inappropriate language
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-04-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:54:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23450542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sparkly_Girl_Glitters/pseuds/Sparkly_Girl_Glitters
Summary: A series of snapshots into a Volleypearl relationship, beginning with their first date.
Relationships: Pearl/Pink Diamond's Pearl (Steven Universe), Pearl/Pink Diamond’s Original Pearl | Volleyball, Volleypearl
Comments: 7
Kudos: 50





	1. Sweet things

It was mid-morning, apparently. 

It was still strange; marking time in the Earth way. They measured such tiny, insignificant little increments as though their passing was even slightly worth noting. ' _Give me ten minutes,’_ Steven might say – like he could achieve anything at all between now and then. Or, _‘We haven’t spoken in_ ** _days_** _,_ _’_ Pearl would sigh dramatically, _‘What’s new?’_

Days! Imagine that! And Pearl would regard her with earnest eyes, long fingers folded expectantly before her, like she was settling in to really listen. As though Volleyball, a gem who had passed eight thousand long years as a blank, unseeing puppet, might have something interesting to report after a matter of days. 

Stranger still, was the fact that she always did. She always had something she’d been meaning to mention to Pearl, or a joke she’d made a note to share. Always for Pearl. 

Take this particular morning, for instance. There was the incident with the knitting which just _had_ to be told; and the friendly couple from the town, who had brought their bicycles into Thursday’s 'Which Earth Pastime is for YOU?’ class; and her review of the straw...straw...strawberry! That she had tried at dinner the evening before. (Really rather wonderful, especially when dipped in a little sugar.) 

She couldn’t wait. 

“You excited there, Vee?” came a voice from beside her. 

Volley turned to smile at a chuckling Bismuth, who was, apparently, much stealthier than she seemed, if she’d managed to sneak this close to her unnoticed. It might have been disquieting, had it been anyone else, but there was something about this bold, colourful gem that put Volley at ease, even on the bad days. Something to do with the way that she only ever seemed to be laughing _with_ you, perhaps. 

“Pearl’s coming to pick me up any minute,” Volley explained. “We’re going on a calendar.” 

Bismuth rumbled quietly with mirth again. 

“A calendar?” she repeated doubtfully. 

“Yes, yes. It’s a human ritual. When one human finds another human who they like talking and holding hands with, they go somewhere special to talk and hold hands at a prearranged time.” She cast her mind back thoughtfully. “It’s possible that there is a lot of blushing involved too, but that might just be Pearl. She blushes a lot.” 

Bismuth threw her head right back at that, roaring with the sort of laughter that made her eyes crinkle and look even friendlier. 

“Especially when there’s a pretty gem around, am I right!” she joked. But she calmed herself shortly, with a deep humoured sigh. “Vee, doll, I’m no expert, but I think the humans call it a ‘date’.” 

Oh, whoops. That sounded familiar, now that Volley thought about it. 

“These earthlings and time!” she despaired, with a giggle of her own. “I’ll never get my head around it.” 

Suddenly, Bismuth's smile widened, her eyes moving to somewhere in the distance, past Volleyball’s shoulder. 

“Well,” she said kindly. “I think you can leave that mystery for later. Your calendar just arrived.” 

Volley turned on the spot, eager to follow Bismuth’s gaze. From the direction of the beach, a compact little earth vehicle was approaching the gates of Little Homeworld, with a certain auburn-haired gem sat behind the controls, instantly recognisable even past the huge aviator sunglasses perched on her nose. Volley felt a smile spread infectiously across her features as Pearl pulled the car into park just a few yards from where the two of them were standing. She clasped her hands before her to stop from waving madly, wanting at least to allow the other gem to exit the vehicle first. 

And what an exit. Pearl shut off the engine and threw open the Dondai’s driver door, treating Volley to a cheeky wink as she unfolded her long, long limbs from the tiny car and drew herself to standing. In one hand, she clutched a ring of keys, idly spinning them around her finger as she leant back against the hood. 

“Ready for your date, ma'am?” she offered, uncharacteristically cocky. 

Volley giggled in delight. 

“I have absolutely no idea what strange human custom you’re referencing now,” she admitted, “But it is _working_.” 

Pearl gave her own laugh, and pushed the sunglasses back into her hair, her body relaxing instantly as she broke character. 

“Steven’s had me practicing this all morning,” she confided. “Apparently it’s ‘about time one of his parents got back onto the scene’.” 

And with that, she threw her arms out, happily catching Volleyball as the other gem flew towards her in a crushing hug. 

“Tell me honestly,” Bismuth teased, as she watched the two of them squeeze one another like they hadn’t last been together...days(?) ago, “How many times did you throw those keys at your face before you got that little twirly move down?” 

Pearl gaped over Volley’s shoulder at her old friend, mock-outrage written all over her face. 

“I am a _Pearl,_ Bismuth!” she protested. “We are the very picture of elegance and grace.” 

And then, after casting a quick glance down at Volleyball, who was taking just another moment to burrow her nose in the particularly soft spot between her neck and her jacket, she let her features settle into a brief flash of mortified disbelief. 

“ _Three!”_ she mouthed silently, eyes widening at her own hopelessness. 

For the second time that morning, Bismuth roared with laughter. 

0 0 0 

Volleyball liked the Dondai. She liked the way the warm summer wind rushed through the open window and played with hair at her nape. She liked the smell of the ‘meadow-scented air freshener’ that hung from the rear-view mirror, and which Pearl had already said she was welcome to take back to her own rooms at Little Homeworld when she dropped her back off later. She liked the soft music coming from the radio, almost lost to the wind and the purr of the engine but for a few precious notes here and there. 

“I think I like dates,” she called over to Pearl, wanting to be heard above it all. 

Pearl treated her to a quick sideways glance, and a warm smile, before looking back at the road. 

“I’m no expert myself,” Pearl replied. “But I think it has a lot to do with the person you’re with. And I’m already enjoying this date very much too.” 

Pearl had suggested a drive to Ocean Town - “ _There’s not much there, but they do have a lovely little art gallery I thought you might like” -_ followed by something called ‘afternoon tea’ - “ _You said you’d been enjoying sweet foods, and even I can appreciate a nice pot of Darjeeling”_. Volley didn’t feel all that much more informed about what the day was actually going to involve, despite hearing the plan, but she trusted Pearl. Perhaps too much, she would worry sometimes; usually on the bad days. But it was difficult not to feel safe with the first gem to _see_ her in thousands of years. When she looked at Pearl, she would remember what it had felt like to fuse with her and finally trust in herself, for the first time in so, so long. She would remember a hand clasped tightly around her own, and a hushed promise that she wasn’t alone any more. 

And if Pearl could make her feel that brave, then Volley could certainly face down an ‘art gallery’ and ‘tea’. 

“We shouldn’t be too much longer now,” Pearl observed. 

“I don’t mind,” Volley replied honestly. 

She could stay like this for a thousand years. 

0 0 0 

“I think glitter might be my favourite Earth artefact so far,” Volleyball mused seriously, as she regarded the work before her. 

THIS PUSSY HAS TEETH, proclaimed the canvas, in bright pink glittery letters, each over a foot tall. 

“It’s definitely eye-catching,” Pearl agreed, an eyebrow raised as she too took in the artwork. 

“What did you say these humans called themselves again?” 

“Feminists,” answered Pearl. “This exhibition was arranged by a local group of young humans who identify with the philosophy.” 

“And these ‘feminists’,” Volley continued, “The other humans see them as radical?” 

“From what I understand,” said Pearl, “They feel that current societal systems need to change, yes. Why?” 

“I was just considering trying something similar back on homeworld,” explained Volley. 

“Glittery political art?” clarified Pearl. 

“Yes! Can you imagine the Diamonds’ faces? I could make the letters as tall as they are– _OPEN YOUR OWN DAMN DOORS._ ” 

Pearl let out a delighted scream of laughter. 

“Or, or, _WHO DO_ **_YOU_ ** _BELONG TO?”_ she suggested. 

“ _I’M TOO BORED TO LOOK PRETTY,”_ Volley giggled. 

There was something achingly beautiful about the fierce teal flush in Pearl’s cheeks as she giggled right back, throwing out a single arm dramatically, as though she could make the canvases appear before them through sheer force of will. 

“What I wouldn’t give for a shimmering banner the size of White Diamond just emblazoned with the word, _RENEGADE,”_ she cried delightedly. “For those days when I’m feeling particularly unmotivated.” 

“Hmmm,” Volley pretended to consider it. “I’m not sure that’s a Shell-approved accessory.” 

“Even better!” asserted Pearl. 

They exchanged smiles then, suddenly oddly shy-looking, even as their hands instinctively sought one another to intertwine fiercely. 

“Definitely better,” Volley found herself agreeing 

0 0 0 

A couple of hours later, and their hands were still cheerily intertwined as they exited the front of the gallery. Volley was near-breathless, a wide, spacy smile plastered across her face as her mind raced with all she had seen. Art! _Art_! Art was _amazing_! So many unique ways to express all those thoughts and feelings swirling around in your gem. Pain could be beautiful, and beauty could be deceptive, and it could all be so _confusing_! 

“I still don’t really understand the humans’ preoccupation with painting fruit,” she admitted, still chattering away at lightspeed, as she had been doing, without realising, for a solid half an hour now. “But the abstract scup-...sclup-…" 

“ _Sculpture,_ ” Pearl provided helpfully. 

“Yes, that! That was...oh! Pearl, it was like nothing I’ve ever seen before!” 

Pearl was smiling too, pride lifting her chin just a little higher than usual. 

“Personally, I admire a well-executed study of still life,” she mused, “But that’s the whole reason I decided to bring you here today. Because art is entirely subjective! You can hold whatever opinion you choose, and you never have to defend it.” 

“Now, _those_ are the words of a renegade,” Volley teased, swinging their hands a little in the warm summer sunshine. 

That characteristic smattering of teal spread across the bridge of Pearl’s nose then, as though she were almost a little embarrassed of her own sincerity, but determined to plough ahead anyway. 

“Those are the words of someone who wants you to truly know that you are entirely your own gem now,” she replied, her voice quiet, but endearingly fierce nonetheless. “And if it turns out that you are the sort of gem who wants to cover herself in glitter and create nothing but abstract sculpture all day and all night...well. Then I’ll buy you the clay myself.” 

She wasn’t quite making eye-contact with Volley as she spoke, which the other gem was grateful for, as she suddenly found herself overwhelmed by an entirely new impulse she had never felt before. It wasn’t quite the same as the feeling she got when her hand would start searching for Pearl’s as if doing so entirely of its own accord; though it was similar. And it wasn’t a million miles away from the warmth that rushed through her whenever she ran into Pearl when neither of them was expecting to see one another, and for a short minute they would only be able to smile shyly at each other before finally finding their voices. 

But nonetheless, this sensation was something different. Something new. And if she’d been looking directly into Pearl’s eyes at that moment... 

Well. She couldn’t honestly say what she might have done. But if it was anywhere near as dramatic as spontaneously fusing, it was probably a good thing the moment passed. After all, Pearl had explained that galleries were places of _culture_ , and therefore the sort of place where you should definitely try and be polite. 

So, Volley let the fleeting sensation retreat for now, storing it somewhere in the quiet, further off regions of her gem, where she could revisit it later in solitude and ponder over what it might mean. This afternoon, she was on a date, and she was determined to carry on enjoying herself. 

“Well, that was certainly a wonderful idea, Pearl,” she said breezily. “Tea next?” 

The teal was already receding, and Pearl flashed a charming grin as she produced a ring of keys from her gem. 

“Your carriage awaits, my lady.” 

0 0 0 

The early evening light was golden and pleasantly heavy as it flooded through the windows of the Dondai like warm honey. They’d left the radio off for the journey home, both having decided – wordlessly – to enjoy the silence for a while. 

Volleyball’s attention was currently split between lazily regarding the pretty look of concentration on Pearl’s face, and, equally lazily, recalling all the things she’d discovered that she liked about Earth today. 

She liked landscape watercolours, and artistic expressions of unapologetic rage. She liked violet-flavoured icing, and lemon sponge. She liked jasmine tea, and sparkling water, and raspberries. 

She liked holding hands with Pearl, and the proud feeling she would get whenever someone else would smile at the two of them. 

She liked the waitress at the tea house, who had called them ‘such a pretty pair’ and snuck them an extra macaron each, ‘on the house’. 

She liked the slightly smug look that Pearl got on her face without even realising, when she quietly explained that, ‘no’, the waitress was not going to return to their table with a cake on top of a house. 

She liked imagining everyone’s faces back on homeworld at the sight of two pearls – one so self-assured and worldly, and the other too busy indulging her sweet tooth to even try and think about what she _should_ be doing. 

“We make a beautiful piece of art together, don’t we?” she murmured. 

“Sorry, Volley?” Pearl called over the rush of the wind. “I didn’t hear you.” 

But Volley just shrugged gently. 

“It doesn’t matter,” she replied, content. 

And to prove it, she reached over to the gearshift, and rested a hand softly over Pearl’s for just a moment, smiling all the while. 

She liked dating. 


	2. Fwoosh

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for everyone who read, commented, or left kudos. It's so lovely to read. Also, apologies for some weird formatting issues in the last chapter - I'm new to AO3. Think I caught it all now!

Friday evening 

Amethyst regarded the kitchen worktop in awe. She’d totally only come home to raid the freezer for ice cream and then kick back for a quick nap, before heading to the movies with some of the Famethyst later in the evening. 

But here she found herself stood, in front of – literally – one of the best meals she had ever seen. 

A plate of perfectly stacked tacos? A mountain of barbecued chicken wings and _three_ different kinds of salad? Two pitchers of iced tea, a tray of freshly baked cookies, and an entire _four-tier chocolate fudge cake_?? 

“Yo, P!!” she cried. “This is amazing! Did you make all of it?” 

Pearl looked up from where she was adding the last few swirls of chocolate icing to the cake, and waved her fellow gem off with a bashful little chuckle. But there was no hiding the glow of pleasure in her face. 

“Oh,” she deflected breezily, “I just thought you guys deserved a treat is all. I mean, we hardly ever sit down for proper meals anymore.” 

“I’m definitely not gonna disagree with you, pierogi,” Amethyst said, excitedly throwing herself onto a stool, and snagging a sticky wing, “But what’s the occasion?” 

It must be a good one, she reflected silently. For starters, Pearl hadn’t slapped her hand away from the food and told her to wait for Steven and Garnet. She hadn’t even so much as frowned! And right now, watching Amethyst shoving messy food in her face with abandon – probably one of Pearl’s least favourite sights in all the world – well, she was regarding her with a proud, adoring kind of smile, like she’d just watched baby Steven forming his first words all over again. 

“No occasion,” she sighed happily. “I just wanted to do something nice for my family.” 

Amethyst snorted into a glass of tea. 

“Sure!” she teased. “That’s why your face is all... _dreamy_.” 

“Dreamy?” repeated Pearl, sounding like she might be shooting for indignant, and missing completely. “Amethyst, I am not dreamy.” 

But Amethyst was already gasping in realisation. 

“Oh my god!” she cried. “ _You got lucky!_ ” 

Here it was Pearl’s turn to gasp, her cheeks immediately flushing a deep, vivid green. 

“Amethyst! Do you _have_ to put it like-” 

It was too late. She’d created a monster. Amethyst had long since forgotten about the food in front of her as her face split into an excited grin, her eyes round and shining with total delight. 

“You were totally gonna pretend like you just happened to be floating around the kitchen, all domestic goddess for no reason, but actually you’re just on Cloud Nine because Volleyball’s been _smooching_ up on you!” 

“I don’t know what you mean,” Pearl shot back shakily. In the least convincing lie ever told. Ever. 

Amethyst just narrowed her gaze and stared, patiently waiting as the other gem looked more and more uncomfortable before... 

“...Fine!” sighed Pearl, throwing her hands up in defeat. And then a scowl. “How on Earth did you guess that so quickly?” 

Amethyst looked far, far more pleased with herself than she deserved, as she simply shrugged. 

“Face it, P,” she preened. “You can’t hide anything from me.” 

There was a beat of silence after her clumsy remark, and the moment could have been completely ruined, as the ghost of Rose and a hundred old lies threatened to descend on them. But Amethyst was done with hurting for stupid reasons. Impulsively, she reached out and grabbed Pearl’s hand in her own, before the other gem even tried to withdraw. 

“I _mean_ ,” she clarified, determinedly nonchalant, “You can never hide it when you’re happy.” 

For a short second, she didn’t think Pearl was going to come with her and leave those old wounds back in the past. But Amethyst wasn’t the only one around here who had been growing, and to her relief, Pearl smiled softly at her words. 

“I am happy,” she admitted, voice quiet, but strong nonetheless. 

She squeezed Amethyst’s hand in her own, and Amethyst felt a fierce pride in both of them roar in her belly for a moment. 

And then quickly decided she was done with the mushy moment. 

“ _So-o,_ how did this tonsil tennis come about?” she quipped. 

“AMETHYST!” 

Pearl abruptly pulled her hand away to grab a nearby dishcloth and throw it straight in her friend’s face. 

“Okay, okay!” Amethyst surrendered, roaring with laughter. “But I’m just saying – I'm pretty sure it doesn’t count as kissing and telling when you disclose the particulars to family.” 

Pearl tried to look disapproving – she really did. But just like Amethyst had said, she couldn’t keep the smile from her face for long enough for it to actually land. She really was on Cloud Nine. 

“Fine,” she conceded. “But if you call it – _ugh – that_ again, I reserve the right to revoke your gossip privileges.” 

“Deal!” 

“Deal.” 

0 0 0 

The previous Monday

“Do you like it?” 

Pearl looked up from the knitted teal...something, in her hands, to regard Volleyball’s nervous expression. 

“I _love_ it,” she replied immediately. 

No one had ever accused Pearl of being the most tactful gem in all the universe, but even she could tell that the little square of lumpy, irregular stitching she held before her now represented something far more precious than the sum of its parts, and she was determined that Volley would never, ever regret sharing something of herself with her. So she flashed the other gem a warm smile, and reached up to carefully deposit the knitting in her gem. 

“I know exactly where it can go in my room in the temple,” she said. “It will look wonderful.” 

Volleyball bit down on a proud grin threatening to break across her face, clasping her hands tightly before her in that way she did sometimes. The way that always made Pearl wonder what she was stopping herself from doing instead. 

“I’m not sure I quite have the knack of knitting yet,” she admitted. “But it was a lot of fun. I’m excited to try it again.” 

Pearl nodded hard enough that she could pretend there were no tears threatening to prickle at the edges of her eyes. 

0 0 0 

Tuesday

She could definitely make out a sort of a bowl shape. Maybe. And that thinner piece of clay there – surely that was supposed to be a...a...hook...? 

“It’s a teacup!” Volleyball announced excitedly. 

_Oh, thank god,_ thought Pearl. 

“It’s a beautiful teacup,” she said aloud. 

“The pottery class was so exciting!” Volley was still rhapsoding. “I don’t think I’ve ever done anything that messy before in my entire life!” 

“Yes,” chuckled Pearl. “I remember Steven went through a modelling clay phase when he was little. It certainly gets everywhere!” 

_Ev-ery-where_ , she thought back darkly. 

“And Vidalia says I show real promise for a beginner!” continued Volley. “She said I should try something a bit more complicated, and I thought, _‘well, I gave Pearl that coaster yesterday, and I know how she likes tea, and keeping things neat’,_ so it seemed obvious that I should make you this!” 

Coaster! Of course! 

Pearl made a mental note to take the knitting down from where she’d framed it on the wall before Volleyball visited next. 

0 0 0 

Wednesday

“Garnet?” Pearl called over to her fellow Crystal Gem, the only other person in the room as far as she could tell. “Have you seen Volleyball? She asked me to meet her here after classes today.” 

One corner of Garnet’s lips quirked slightly as she simply gestured with a thumb to an enormous, six-foot-tall _mountain_ of a flower arrangement in the corner of the room. Hydrangeas, daisies, poppies, chrysanthemums, gypsophila – there must have been blooms in every single colour of the rainbow dotted throughout the monstrous bouquet. 

“Uh...Volley?” Pearl called uncertainly. 

“Flower-arranging class was wonderful!” the bouquet replied, in a muffled voice that sounded an awful lot like Volleyball’s. “You have vases at home, right?” 

0 0 0 

Thursday

Goodness. Until five minutes ago, Pearl hadn’t even realised that edible glitter was a thing. And now here she was, looking at so much of it that she was a little afraid to inhale too deeply. 

“So, you enjoyed Lars’ baking class?” she asked weakly. 

It wasn’t really fair that Volleyball should look quite so lovely whilst holding something _that_ unappetising, but that was the truth of it. An errant curl had burst from one of her buns, and appeared to be dusted from root to tip with icing sugar. A smear of purple icing decorated her forehead, and her cheeks were flushed with pride. 

“You really don’t have to try it,” she said earnestly. “I know you don’t like food. But it’s an earl grey and lemon flavoured cupcake, and Lars assured me that it would taste light and fresh, and not feel too stodgy.” 

“Earl grey, lemon, and edible glitter,” Pearl corrected, without being able to stop herself. 

“Well yes,” Volley agreed. “Lars said that he personally wouldn’t have used quite so much, but that he admired my artistic conviction.” 

“Mmmm,” Pearl murmured absently. She was still regarding the cupcake like it might spontaneously sprout fangs and attack her face. Which honestly might have been the preferable course of events at this point. 

Volley took pity on her. 

“Pearl, you really don’t have to eat any,” she insisted again. “I only wanted to offer you the chance. I’m really quite happy to keep it for myself.” 

“Thank you,” said Pearl, her relief obvious. “I think you’ll be a much more deserving recipient of this particular gift.” 

“More cake for me!” Volleyball agreed happily. 

0 0 0 

Friday afternoon 

The soft whisper of the ocean gently lapping at the sand was just about the only noise to be heard, save for occasional call of a seagull from overhead. It was so easy to be peaceful at times like this, Pearl thought happily. The rock behind her back was warm and steady; the sand beneath her palm, soft; and Volley’s head was a comforting weight on her shoulder. Sweet-smelling pink hair occasionally danced across her cheek, making something fuzzy stir lazily in her chest every so often. 

This was a good day. 

“I think the ocean might be favourite thing about Earth,” Volley mused quietly. “The sound of the waves – there's nothing like it for helping my mind feel quieter.” 

“Rain on the roof of the beach house,” Pearl replied. “There is no sound I’ve ever heard in all the universe quite like those raindrops. Especially when I know all my family are safe and warm at home.” 

“You’ll have to show me some time,” said Volley. 

“It’s a date,” Pearl agreed happily. 

They lapsed once more into a comfortable silence for a while, before Volley began to disentangle herself from Pearl, to reach into her gem. 

“What have you got there?” asked Pearl. 

“My cupcake from yesterday,” Volley replied. “I never got around to trying it!” 

Carefully, she unfolded the cardboard box Lars had given her the day before to protect the cake. It had clearly fared well in her gem, only the slightest smudge of glittery frosting on the inside of the lid – otherwise, the cake was completely intact. 

She looked up to grin at Pearl. 

“Bottoms up!” 

“You’ve been spending too much time with Amethyst,” Pearl simply countered. 

Volley just bit into the cake with gusto, eyes fluttering shut as she sank her teeth through the frosting and sponge. 

“ _Mmmm_ ,” she sighed. 

Wow. And that glitter had looked so unappealing this time yesterday. 

“You really have taken to Earth pursuits lately,” Pearl noted, in a voice that wasn’t at all strangled. 

“Mmm-hmm,” Volley agreed. She swallowed her gargantuan mouthful of cake, looking very pleased with herself indeed. “I’ve had so much fun trying all these different ways of creating new things. I’ve never had the chance to do that before!” 

“I know,” said Pearl, smiling. “I felt the same way the first time I picked up a sword. Like I was finally doing something that was just my choice. I couldn’t believe my own daring.” 

Volley nodded, absently breaking off little pieces of sponge and munching on them. 

“It does feel terrifying sometimes,” she admitted. “But every time I get scared, I try and just pour all the fear into whatever I’m doing. Like I can turn it into something beautiful.” 

“That’s wonderful, Volley,” said Pearl sincerely. 

Volley flushed then, reaching out for Pearl’s hand, with fingers that were only a little sticky. She wore a warm smile that she couldn’t quite bite down on, and Pearl wished not for the first time – or the last – that she wouldn’t try and stop it at all. 

“I hope you don’t mind keep having to take the results of all my artistic experiments home,” Volley said quietly. 

Pearl shook her head vehemently, squeezing the hand in her own as tightly as she could without it being painful. 

“Of course not, Volley!” she insisted. “I’m... _honoured_ that you share these things with me. These are your first ever steps into creating a life all of your own, and I feel so lucky that you consider me in them at all.” 

Volley’s eyes were shining, and incredibly, she squeezed right back, even more fiercely. She looked very much like might want to squeeze down on something right now, but also as though - perhaps - she couldn't quite bring herself to do so this time. Almost like she couldn't believe her own daring.

“ _Pearl_ ,” she said quietly, “These might be my first steps, but you were the person who showed me I could take them. That’s why I want so much to share the results with you. I’m proud to try all these things by myself, but I want you to know that you’re a part of all of it. Even when we’re not together.” 

_Fwoosh._

That, Pearl would reflect years later, was the exact noise that her insides made at those words, as they rearranged themselves like she’d just dropped hundreds of feet through the air, utterly inconsiderate of the fact that they were supposed to be simply manifestations of light. With a distant sense of certainty, she felt her voice come out of her mouth almost like it was someone else’s. 

“Volleyball?” she murmured, throaty and fragile. “Can _I_ share something new with _you_?” 

“Of course,” Volley whispered, eyes growing ever wider and wider, as she watched Pearl’s face move closer to her own. 

Her lips were impossibly sweet – bergamot and lemon and heady joy.

Soft. Gentle. Terrifying. 

After a moment that lasted an eternity, Pearl drew back just far enough to open her eyes again, still close enough that they were sharing unnecessary breaths. 

“Was that okay?” she checked, in a small voice. 

“ _Yes_ ,” came the single, fierce reply. 

And then they were kissing again. 


End file.
